Wole returned to the United States in 1988 to become a research scientist at The McDonnell Douglas Research Labs in St. Louis, MO. In 1992, he worked briefly as a Principal Research Engineer at the
Edison Welding Institute before joining the engineering faculty of The
Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. From 1997 to 1998, he was a visiting professor in the departments of mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He served as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Secretary General of the United Nations from 2014 to 2016. Dr. Soboyejo moved to Princeton University in 1999 where he served as a professor of
mechanical and
aerospace engineering and a professor in the Princeton Institute of Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM). He also served as the director of the U.S./Africa Materials Institute (USAMI), one of six international materials institutes supported by the National Science Foundation, and the Director of the Materials Undergraduate Research Program in PRISM. In September 2016, Wole joined the faculty and administration at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) where he served as the Bernard M. Gordon Dean of Engineering and Professor of Engineering Leadership, prior to being named Senior Vice President and Provost. His research focuses on materials for health, energy and the environment. His current projects include the use of nanomaterials for targeting and treating cancer; a shear assay technique that may be able to measure the mechanical properties of
organelles in the cell; the development of low cost
solar cells/light emitting devices; and sustainable approaches to providing clean water, affordable housing and education to people in the developing world. In 2021, he was elected a member of the
National Academy of Engineering for contributions to understanding dynamic behavior of materials and for leadership in STEM outreach in Africa. ==References==